The present disclosure relates to a damper mechanism of an opening/closing member used in image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, facsimile machines, and multifunctional peripherals thereof, and to an image forming apparatus incorporating such a damper mechanism.
Typically, in conventional image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and digital multifunctional peripherals, to make the entire image forming apparatus compact, a sheet transport passage is arranged near a side face of the image forming apparatus main body in the vertical direction. In the transport passage arranged in the vertical direction, a transport roller pair is arranged for transporting sheets. Generally, to handle a jam and perform maintenance, a configuration is adopted in which a transport unit is arranged, which is provided with one roller of a transport roller pair, a transfer roller which forms a transfer nip by being pressed against an image carrying member, and the like, so as to be openable/closable with respect to an image forming apparatus main body so that a transport passage is exposed largely.
Some methods have been proposed for improving the operability when a transport unit is opened or closed, and an image forming apparatus is known which incorporates a damper mechanism that biases an opening/closing unit in the closing direction.